Miracles (Insane Clown Posse song)
| "Miracles" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Miracles is a song written by Insane Clown Posse and Mike E. Clark for the duo's 2009 album Bang! Pow! Boom!. A music video was produced for the 2010 reissue of the album, dubbed the "Nuclear Edition". The song's lyrics focus on the extraordinary events experienced by humans in daily life which are not well acknowledged. This song is widely known to demonstrate just how stupid the Insane Clown Posse members are, especially for the famous line "Fuckin magnets, how do they work?"
Music and lyrics
The lyrics of "Miracles" focus on the extraordinary events humans experience in life which often go unacknowledged, and encourages listeners to take time to look at the world and reevaluate their life.[2][3] According to Joseph Bruce, "What's a shame is how people walk around blind to it all. They lost their spirit about everything. If you can’t even see the miracle in animals, then you must have never truly loved a pet."[4] Bruce defends the group's use of the term miracles in the song. "We’ve always thought [the word] meant something fuckin’ amazing and incredible, [...] [a] special, awesome event, [...] a great, wonderful thing."[4] Bruce also states that the lyrics discuss "things [...] [that] may not be actual miracles. They may have scientific facts explaining them away. But nonetheless, these things are still incredible [...] and they should be appreciated."[5]
The lyrics focus on introspective themes which are considered to be uncommon in Insane Clown Posse's music; however, Bruce states that these themes are important in the duo's work, and reveal their depth.[2] In response to accusations that the group has changed its style and gone soft,[5] Bruce calls the song "classic ICP," noting that the group has always included one or two deep and meaningful songs on every album, and that this is just the first time that they've created a video for one of those songs.[5][4]
The song's music is built around an ascending synthesizer melody, and climaxes with an electric guitar solo performed by Mike E. Clark, and beatboxing by Joseph Utsler.[2][3]
Music video
The music video for the song debuted on April 6, 2010, as part of the "Nuclear Edition" reissue of Bang! Pow! Boom!.[6] The video's green screen sequences were directed by Paul Andresen. Post-production was completed in Michigan.[7] The video has received over a million views on YouTube.[8]
On April 17, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch which parodied the "Miracles" music video.[9] In the sketch, fictional personalities DJ Supersoak and Lil' Blaster debuted a fictional music video by the Thrilla Killa Klownz called "Magical Mysteries" as part of the Under Underground Records' "Underground Rock Minute".[10] In the fictional video, Ryan Phillippe and Bobby Moynihan rap about things such as "where the sun hides at night" and blankets.[9][10] Saturday Night Live had previously parodied Psychopathic Records in 2009.[7]
Insane Clown Posse called the "Miracles" parody "a huge honor".[10] Bruce called the parody "off the hook hilarious."[4] Utsler noted that Coolio had reacted unfavorably towards "Amish Paradise", "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of the rapper's song "Gangsta's Paradise", and stated "If Weird Al wanted to do one of our songs, I’d be like, 'Hell yeah.' To me, it's the same thing with Saturday Night Live."[7]
Reception
The Detroit News music critic Adam Graham disliked the song, writing that "hearing this song makes you wish ICP would stick to serial killing".[11] Slate writer Jonah Weiner praised the song's music, but panned its lyrics.[3] The A.V. Club writer Nathan Rabin described the song as "fucking insane".[12] James Montgomery described the music video as "a psychedelic special effects extravaganza that is sometimes really literal [...] and sometimes just confusing."[13] The Orion gave the video a "thumbs up" rating, writing "We also have wondered how magnets work."[14] Joseph Bruce has responded to the criticism, saying that Insane Clown Posse has always been faced with ridicule, and that he feels that the mainstream media does not understand the meaning of song.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b Bang! Pow! Boom! (Media notes). Detroit, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. 2009.
{{cite AV media notes}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|bandname=ignored (help) - ^ a b c Bruce, Joseph (September 4, 2009). "Violent J's Personal Review of Bang Pow Boom!". Psychopathic Records. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c Weiner, Jonah (April 13, 2010). "Do You Believe in Miracles? The wild, weird world of Insane Clown Posse". Slate.
- ^ a b c d e "The Buzz on "Miracles"". The Hatchet Herald, Volume 13, Issue 5. Psychopathic Records. April 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Lazlo (2010-04-19). "Interview with Violent J". The Church of Lazlo. KRBZ.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|city=ignored (|location=suggested) (help) - ^ "Bang! Pow! Boom! Nuclear Edition Out NOW!". Psychopathic Records. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Itzkoff, Dave (April 26, 2010). "Fools' Gold: An Oral History of the Insane Clown Posse Parodies". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Anderson, Kyle (April 27, 2010). "Insane Clown Posse's Violent J Weighs In On The Cult Of 'Miracles'". Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Anderson, Kyle (April 18, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Takes Down Insane Clown Posse With 'Miracles' Parody". MTV News. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Saturday Night Live Parodies the "Miracles" Music Video!". Psychopathic Records. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Graham, Adam (September 1, 2009). "Pow! ICP revisits the Dark Carnival". The Detroit News.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Rabin, Nathan (April 8, 2010). "Great job, Internet! Insane Clown Posse, rainbows, fucking magnets and the miracle of existence". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Montgomery, James (2010-04-08). "Insane Clown Posse's 'Miracles' Video Explained". MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ "Thumbs up, Thumbs down". The Orion. Chico, California. April 21, 2010.